Secret Correspondence
by uniqueinkblots
Summary: CollegeAU!Peddie. Patricia has had a secret crush on Eddie since the beginning of the semester. Eddie doesn't know she exists and is more concerned with making it through a terrible breakup. Patricia views this as an opportunity to do a good thing. She takes it upon herself to cheer him up - anonymously, of course.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

It's ridiculous that I'm posting a new WIP considering I haven't updated NADM or TH in about a week but...this is still happening. Sue me. I know - I sometimes wonder what's wrong with me too. But the good news is that this isn't a whole big project that I'll be struggling to multitask with! This is going to be 5 chapters long and hopefully you'll find it sweet, short, and fluffy.

As I've said before, I'm obsessed with Peddie AU. It's my latest thing. This is a college AU so if you prefer canon stuff then you probably shouldn't read any further because it's not like the show!

Oh and I went ahead and used "Miller" for Eddie's surname even though I traditionally use Sweet. But I suppose if the show kinda changed it up, I can too. No harm done.

I also mainly wrote in the present tense which I don't usually do but I kind of love it so I might do it more. Enough rambling - hope you like this!

**************************Disclaimer:** House of Anubis belongs to Nickelodeon, not me.

* * *

Calculus I is Patricia Williamson's favorite class.

Not because she's good at math (dear god, as it so happens, she's awful at it) or because she's fond of numbers. To be honest, she isn't a big fan of college academics in general so it doesn't actually make sense for her to enjoy a class that covers her least favorite subject.

But calc class is different. It's her exception to the "I hate school" rule.

Because while Professor Andrews cheerfully drones on about derivatives and riemann sums and quite frankly babbles in a language Patricia isn't even sure is English, she gets to focus on people watching. Okay, _person_ watching to be specific. The lecture hall is filled with about a hundred students because it's a core requirement for most majors but there's only one person she ever notices: Edison Miller.

It's a dorky name for a not dorky person. Considering how his father is president of the college, one would think that would further doom Eddie's social standing (what with the goofy name) but somehow, he defies all odds and is actually quite popular.

He's a well established individual, clear in his intent to be nothing like his father. It's a well known fact that Eric Sweet wants his son to study higher education or at the very least major in chemistry like he did, but Eddie's determined to go in the opposite direction.

There's no reason for Patricia to know this much about Eddie considering their paths have never crossed. Their friend circles are different - Eddie hangs out with his nerdy roommate, Fabian, and the guys from his soccer team; Patricia hangs out with the "sisterhood" she was forcibly roped into by girls on her floor. Their clubs are different too - Eddie writes for the school newspaper and Patricia participates in a club that focuses on practical jokes (college is great like that; there's a club for anything and everything.) To top it all off, their departments are different. Eddie intends to study politics and literature while Patricia is awkwardly considering biology; she's got to study _something _and she sucks at the humanities, so why the hell not?

But anyway, college isn't all that different from high school. Certain people stand out. Everyone knows who they are. So by that law of life, naturally, everyone knows who Eddie Miller is - Patricia included. How can they not know? Other than his father running the place, Eddie's made a name for himself what with the star athlete and top school journalist status. He's got a beautiful girlfriend, KT, and together the two of them are rather unstoppable: both are down to earth, friendly, funny, attractive people. Quite honestly, Eddie Miller is obscenely close to perfection.

Patricia though, is no one. It's not that she's shy or unpopular, but she's certainly not too noticed. She doesn't volunteer in class (duh) and that mischievous fun spark only makes an appearance in front of her close friends. For all intents and purposes, she's perfectly average. Guys don't even pay attention to her (much to Patricia's disappointment because she got over her "boys suck" phase in high school, thank you very much) but Joy says it's not because Patricia isn't pretty, but because she seems unapproachable. That's probably true, but it doesn't make the situation any less depressing.

Despite all these differences though, Patricia has managed to develop a huge crush on Eddie. It started off as the typical, harmless, longing. She can't help but notice him around campus, enthusiastically kicking a soccer ball around or studiously taking notes during one of his interviews for the school paper. He's never alone and Patricia usually spots him with the residential bookworm Fabian (she wonders how someone like him managed to become such good friends with _Eddie_) or strolling around campus, hand in hand with his girlfriend.

But somehow all that innocent, casual watching has sort of developed into desire. She knows it isn't logical to like someone she's never even talked to, but she can't help it! She's seen him grinning, laughing, so bright and open and then she wonders. It has to be nice - having all those friends and being so well-liked. According to rumors, Eddie can sometimes be a bit of jerk; all-knowing and cheeky, but Patricia doesn't mind. She thinks attitudes are kind of attractive. Not that it matters - it's all just hopeless daydreaming.

Pining after Eddie Miller was maybe a little out of character for her, but completely harmless. He doesn't know she exists and anyway, he's in what appears to be a happy, strong relationship. As long as Patricia doesn't delude herself and lose sight of the fact that they can never ever be together, everything is fine.

Besides, being in a class with him is wildly exciting. She's never been this physically close to him before. He sits in the front row (he may act cool but college is no joke; he pays attention) and Patricia sits two rows behind him because while she agrees that as an adult she probably shouldn't mock school as much as she had in high school, no way would she be caught dead sitting in the front.

So all in all,_ no_ - Patricia can't bring herself to hate calculus too much.

* * *

Eddie is having a fantastic first year at school. Much to his delight, his father hadn't protested too much when Eddie had genuinely expressed in studying something other than what had been expected of him. He has an endearing, bright roommate and a cute, adventurous girlfriend. He's acing all his classes and has managed to keep his Fridays free, leaving plenty of room for extra soccer practice.

He is a diligent student which surprised Patricia at first. His family is wealthy and since his father holds such a high position in the school, she figures nothing too terrible will happen if he slacks off. She didn't realize how tough Mr. Sweet could be on his own son, but in her mind it made sense for Eddie to goof off and take thing easy and have fun all the time.

But instead Patricia always sees him taking notes, his hand barely ever pausing. She's pretty sure he writes every last thing on the powerpoints even though Andrews posts a copy of the notes online too. He also asks thoughtful, insightful questions. Very unlike the stupid ones she's too afraid to ask out loud. (Because if she did that would undoubtedly result in the professor wondering if she was mentally handicapped.)

When it came to calc, yes, Patricia was honestly that dumb. She thinks she might be smarter if she paid attention but most of class time is dedicated to studying the back of Eddie's hand. She tries to convince herself that's not too weird. (And fails.)

But leave it to Eddie to excel at yet another thing, one more skill to add to the list of things that makes him so undeniably amazing.

* * *

All of that changes the second half of the first semester.

Patricia hears the rumors but doesn't confirm it as fact until Mara bursts into her room, claiming she saw the whole thing take place on the quad.

_Eddie and KT broke up._

Apparently, it was a rather public affair. After three months of blissful happiness, KT broadcasts that she's fallen in love with someone else. In front of everyone.

Mara excitedly brags that she heard KT tell Eddie she'd still like to be friends. She flops on Patricia's bed and proceeds to describe the breakup in great detail and Patricia finds herself struggling not to get hopeful. There's no point in being excited because this doesn't change the fact that being with Eddie is still impossible.

But maybe a tad less than it was before.

* * *

Eddie is miserable.

In retrospect, things had been going too good to be true. Nothing ever lasts, he tries to rationalize. He should have seen this disaster coming.

It's odd but he doesn't find himself too mad with KT. He numbly tells her he needs space and that he can't possibly be her friend right now, but he doesn't really blame her for breaking up with him. She didn't cheat on him or anything. She just...found someone she feels more strongly for. It's hard for him to accept, but so far he's doing a reasonable job.

Maybe he's just in shock.

He can't believe the whole thing, to be honest. He recognizes it's kind of silly to be so torn up about someone he just met in August but...it had been almost four months and more than just a girlfriend, KT had been his friend too.

He wonders who this other kid is. It's arrogant of him, but who could she possibly like more? He knows he's good-looking, intelligent, and damn it all, he's charismatic and kind too. He's one of the good guys, an almost rare find in a college campus where over half of the male population is strictly interested in sex rather than a serious, loving relationship.

During the first week, he sulks. He sits in his dorm room and watches sad, romantic movies on his family's netflix account, fully aware that his mother will call and ask why he's suddenly watching girly films.

Fabian tries to help too. He awkwardly sneaks alcohol into their room, babbling about some guy named Jerome helping him out. He hands it to Eddie as though it's a precious object capable of solving everything. Eddie's not sure where Fabian got the idea that alcohol is the solution, but he strongly suspects it's from all those silly books he reads.

Ever the golden boy, Eddie considers refusing, but he can't deny the mixed look of pride and concern on Fabian's face. So he congratulates him on managing to do probably the first "bad" thing in his life and drinks himself into a numb alcohol stupor.

He's got a massive hangover by the time Monday rolls around, and he's pretty sure he's never drank so much in his life, but it was worth it. For a couple of days, he manages to forget.

But now it's time for class again, and he can feel everyone looking at him and whispering as he makes his way across campus. It's stupid that people are so juvenile, resorting to petty gossip, but it's the way things are.

And more brokenhearted than ever before, Eddie hates it.

* * *

Patricia spends all weekend daydreaming about Eddie but her fantasies don't last long. Eddie stumbles into their calc lecture, later than usual, looking like he hasn't slept all weekend. His hair is sticking out every which way, his eyes are bloodshot, and he clearly rolled out of bed judging the state of his sweatpants and rumpled t-shirt. Usually, he looks much nicer.

With each passing second, Patricia feels more sorry for Eddie than before. And even a little bit guilty, for briefly being joyful at his expense. She can't see his face, but he's not keeping up with the notes as usual, and not once does he answer a question or propose one of his own. It's the first time he hasn't participated all semester.

That's when Patricia decides that someone should cheer Eddie up. She's almost positive he isn't in some kind of wanna be fraternity the way she's in a fake sorority with a grand total of five people. (Herself, Mara, Joy, & these other two strangely peppy girls named Amber & Willow.)

Whenever Patricia is down, she can count on those girls to drag her out of bed and do something kind for her. Even though she usually wants to kill them at first, she typically ends up enjoying herself.

She wonders if Eddie has anyone to rely on like that. She knows he has plenty of friends, but somehow, she feels like no one is going to make a move to help him or cheer him up.

So she decides to take it upon herself. It needs to be a cute gesture, a friendly and innocent one. Nothing with an ulterior motive, she promises herself. Just a little something.

She tells the sisterhood what she intends to do and much to her relief, the plan isn't deemed stalkerish or weird. Amber and Willow squeal and shrill until Patricia has to cover her ears and Mara and Joy praise her on her bravery and "secret kindness."

Next class Patricia makes the effort to be first in class. (God, she must really like Eddie.) Watching him all semester had it's benefits - she knows what kind of coffee he usually orders and what baked goods he buys.

Before she can change her mind, she places the food on his desk and puts a note there as well.

She spent all night obsessing over the damn thing and she ripped up so many pieces of paper, that eventually, Willow had to give her one of her "nature friendly" notepads. It's light green with a little tree in the bottom right corner and is apparently made out of recycled paper. Patricia spends a good ten minutes teasing her quirky friend, but accepts the pad of paper.

Before she can change her mind and take the food and note back, she escapes to third row and wills herself not to freak out.

God, what did she just do?

* * *

Eddie sleeps in and it's Fabian who shakes him awake and reminds him he has class. He groans and complains and tells his friend he's not going, but one disapproving look from his friend and the reminder that finals are around the corner, and Eddie drags himself out of bed, shooting his kindhearted roommate a dirty look.

Fabian grins before turning over and pulling the comforter over his head. He doesn't have class for another two hours and Eddie feels like killing him for it.

He rushes into class, more put together than last time, but still hurting. At least he made the effort to wear proper pants this time.

Upon reaching his usual place, he's met with a peculiar sight. A fresh, steaming cup of coffee and his favorite kind of muffin from the coffee shop around the corner. And there's a piece of paper too.

He briefly wonders if it's for him before realizing it has to be. The kid who usually sits to his left is lost in a world of music, humming to the song he's listening to, and the kid who sits to his right isn't even there. Plus Eddie's favorite foods are on _his _desk so it must be for him.

Tentatively, Eddie opens the note and reads.

_You deserve to smile. Let's see if this does the trick!_

Below the note is a rough sketch of a...hedgehog.

It's so unexpected and it's so nonsensical that Eddie finds himself grinning for the first time since the breakup. Granted, it's a smile of bewilderment and of surprise, but it's still a smile. He studies the hedgehog and has to bite back a laugh because seriously? Of all the animals to draw, a _hedgehog?_

Eddie knows it doesn't make sense to feel better but...he does. Someone took the time to write him a sweet, thoughtful note and even included a weird doodle thing that is undeniably comical.

For the first time since the breakup, he finds himself able to focus a little more. He sips at the coffee and eats the muffin. It motivate him to actually take his notebook out of his backpack and he manages to jot down a couple things.

The note has been carefully folded and is resting in his coat pocket because for some inexplicable reason, he's determined to keep the little thing. It just seems important.

At the end of class, it dawns on Eddie that he has no way to know who sent the thing. And it's unfair because he wants to thank the person. It can't be one of his friends because he doesn't actually know anyone in this lecture. And he's pretty sure no one would take the time to figure out his schedule and track down his first class. Well...Fabian might, but Eddie knows for a fact that he left him sleeping, back in the dorm.

So it's definitely someone else.

Call it good manners but Eddie rips off the corner of a sheet of paper and scribbles a note before leaving it on his desk and exiting the classroom.

He hopes it doesn't go unnoticed.

* * *

Patricia is panicking. She briefly wonders if she's worked her way into an anxiety disorder. She hopes she doesn't have an attack of some kind. That'd be unfortunate to say the least.

She's so worried. What if Eddie throws it away without reading it? What if he reads it and _then _tosses it? What if he doesn't even see it?!

But Eddie does none of those things.

He opens it and...Patricia scoots her chair to left so she can see a bit of his face.

He's _smiling._

A moment later he's choking back a laugh and Patricia swears this is the best thing that's ever happened to her. Yes, she's got an attitude and can be sassy and tough, and _sure _she loves planning pranks and causing havoc every once in a while, but she's still a girl and she's still got a heart...which is currently wildly thumping out of excitement.

She sees him slip the note in his pocket and her excitement grows because he didn't get rid of it!

To her further delight, Eddie gets out his notebook and his back straightens and he seems more alert than he's been in days. Naturally, Patricia doesn't pay any attention in class, intently focused on watching Eddie. Usually, she absorbs maybe 50% of Professor Andrews prattle, but today she doesn't hear a word.

Her plan went amazingly well and she can't remember the last time she was so happy.

She gathers her things at the end of class but in her dreamy haze, doesn't see Eddie leave. He's gone by the time she's at the front of the room but that's ok - she hadn't planned on confronting him.

But much to her surprise, he decided to _confront _her.

There's a little scrap of paper on his desk and it's not the same one she left. This note is for her. Trying not to call attention herself, she snatches the thing out and rushes out the door, eagerly unfolding it as though it's some kind of Christmas present.

_Thanks. I especially liked the hedgehog..._

Patricia can feel the sarcasm leaping off the page when it comes to the hedgehog thing but she finds that she doesn't care. He said thanks. He took the time to _thank _her.

She's crazy excited and she's so glad she decided to draw that dumb little hedgehog. Willow had been rambling about hew new "pet" for a week and Mara was doing some kind of research project on it and so naturally, that's the first animal that popped into her mind.

Totally worth it though.

She carefully cradles the note as though it's priceless and rushes back to her dorm, for once in her life excited to share an experience with that silly sisterhood she still can't believe she got forced into.

Now though, she doesn't mind.

She's elated, giddy, thrilled, and a bunch of other joyous adjectives she can't think of at the moment because she's so far up in the clouds.

Really though, it feels like heaven.

* * *

Eddie returns to his dorm room that afternoon and taps Fabian on the shoulder. The other boy mumbles something and holds up a hand, deeply engrossed in his schoolwork. If there's anyone more diligent than Eddie, it's Fabian.

"No, dude, this is important," he impatiently shuts Fabian's textbook and is immediately on the receiving end of a fiery glare.

"I was studying," Fabian complains, fumbling to find the right page number. Eddie closes the book again and ignores his friends halfhearted protest. Fabian knows when he's lost. "Okay, tell me," he sighs.

"Look at this," Eddie pulls the note out of his pocket and gives it to Fabian.

"A hedgehog."

Eddie rolls his eyes but doesn't blame his friend for only noticing the sketch. It definitely stands out.

Fabian looks up, puzzled. "I don't understand."

Eddie explains the entire story about how he found the coffee and the note and how he left a note in return. It's a quirky tale but it's the best thing that's happened to him since KT dumped him.

"Hmm. And you don't know who sent it?" Fabian asks, curious.

Eddie shakes his head. "No but...it was nice."

"It was," Fabian agrees. "Someone's concerned for you. That's definitely sweet."

He hands the note back to Eddie who carefully taps it to his bookshelf/desk thing. It seems important to keep it.

* * *

Patricia charges into her dorm room, breathless.

"You'll never believe it," she says.

"I've got plenty of experience," Joy replies dismissively. "Of course I will."

"He wrote a note back!"

Somewhere in her mind, Patricia recognizes that she sounds like a girly idiot, but she can't bring herself to care. It literally doesn't matter.

_"He what?"_

The sisterhood gathers around eagerly and Patricia recounts her tale, flushing from excitement. She shows them the note and grins shyly as everyone squeals as though it's the best thing to ever happen even though it's really nothing.

After everyone settles down, Patricia is left to her own thoughts.

She doesn't know what on earth she's going to do next or if she's even _going _to something. This might have been a one time exchange.

But this much is clear: now she has even _more _of a reason to look forward to calculus class.

* * *

**A/N:**

And there's the first installment! I hope Patricia didn't seem too out of character. A lot of the times I find myself writing stories or drabbles in which Eddie is the one chasing after her or where he's the more vulnerable of the two. I thought it was about time I wrote some girly, pining Patricia.

I hope this was fun to read - feedback would be wonderful :)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

Yay thank you for the amazing response to the first chapter! Sorry for the delay - I was on vacation for a week and things got hectic and then I literally forgot to upload the new chapter even though it was done. Ah oops!

**Disclaimer: **House of Anubis belongs to Nickelodeon, not me.

* * *

Patricia spends the rest of the week contemplating her next move. She's perfectly aware it's kind of ridiculous to be this energized by a little scrap of paper but the whole affair is simply exhilarating. Eddie had smiled at the note and that had made her heart soar and so she just can't control the resulting happiness.

It's pathetic and she knows it, but in her defense, she never liked anyone in high school. She figures her lovesick behavior is due to pent up hormones and feelings she never expressed. So because she's never had a crush on someone, she rationalizes that it's perfectly acceptable to be hopelessly obsessed with someone she's never even talked to.

Except she knows it isn't. She's out of control.

But that doesn't stop her from thinking of what to do next. The note passing was meant to be a one time thing but then Eddie had written back and that made Patricia realize she has more options. It doesn't _have _to end, right? Maybe if she writes another note, he'll write back again? That would be...interesting.

The only way to find out if Eddie will write back is to write another note so that part of the plan is decided. The bigger question is what to include. The first one had been so simple. The idea was to cheer him up. But now that Patricia has done that she doesn't know what to do next.

She grabs the ridiculous notepad Willow gifted her (she's kind of grown to love it) and reaches for a pen. She spends a good half hour pondering what to write before she decides. It's a silly comment, but she's hoping it's silly enough to be cute.

As an added measure she adds yet another doodle of a hedgehog that matches the theme of her note.

It isn't until after she's folded the note and carefully placed it in her backpack that she stops and realizes she has no business being good at sketching hedgehogs.

That can't possibly be normal.

* * *

Eddie comes to class next week feeling better than he has since the breakup. Thinking about KT still makes his heart hurt so he tries not to do that, but other than that, he's feeling refreshed. He wants to think it's because a little time has passed and he's starting to heal, but part of him is convinced he's brightened up because of the note.

It triggered something within him. The note was simple and kindhearted - quirky and unique at best. It really wasn't significant in the slightest. Yet, it's the only thing that's managed to motivate him to pull it together.

He saunters into class with a thermos of tea and a granola bar, feeling well rested and oddly eager. It's more than being in the mental state to take notes. He hates to admit but he's kind of excited to see if there will be a little something for him on his desk again.

He knows he shouldn't expect there to be another note. He even knows that he shouldn't even _want _there to be one, yet he kind of does. His nerves are buzzing in anticipation and he hates to admit it but if there's nothing there, he'll probably be disappointed.

But today is his lucky day, because when he arrives at his desk there is indeed a note and yet another muffin from the university coffee shop. He unsuccessfully tries to hide his smile and slips his granola bar into his backpack and reaches for the muffin instead. After tentatively tasting it (blueberry - it's delicious) he carefully unfolds the new note.

He looks around eagerly, hoping to catch someone observing him but no one looks particularly alert. Everyone around him is chatting amicably or typing away on their cellphones. No one is looking at him.

He's a little disappointed but mostly relieved because at least he can look at the note in peace without feeling hunted. He opens it enthusiastically, nearly ripping it in the process.

At the top it reads: _Why did the __hedgehog go to Minnesota? _The answer is at the bottom located below a picture of a cartoon hedgehog holding a can of soda: _To get a mini soda! P.S. The original animal in the joke was a cat but I don't think it matters and it just so happens that I'm unusually brilliant at drawing hedgehogs._

This time Eddie can't hold back his laughter with a smothered cough. He chuckles openly and tries to appear discreet when the kid sitting next to him looks at him oddly. Eddie is aware he looks a little crazy, laughing when he's not engaged in conversation with someone else. But he can't bring himself to care.

The joke was _terrible _but it was so cheesy that it was...endearing. And the bit with the hedgehog is curiously hilarious.

Eddie puts the note away almost immediately but his mind can't help but keep wandering back to the silly thing. Every time he thinks about it a small smile graces his face until he stops trying to hold it back - he spends the entire class with a grin plastered to his face.

When class ends, Eddie scribbles a reply on a scrap of paper (how crazy is it that he's considering buying a special notepad to use with his new secret pen pal?) that he's spent most of the class period thinking about.

As he exits the lecture hall, it occurs to him that the only thing he knows about the person sending the note is that they're good at drawing hedgehogs and is potentially fond of corny animal jokes.

* * *

Patricia is beginning to enjoy herself. This note sending business feels like a game and she _loves_ those.

She's still nervous about Eddie's response but she's more eager than anything else. She has to physically restrain herself from leaning forward to see Eddie's reaction. She has however, moved her seat slightly to the left so she can clearly see the side of his face as opposed to the back of his head. (Though she still finds it lovely.)

She's quick enough to train her eyes on her notebook when Eddie's head snaps up, presumably looking for the note sender - looking for _her. _She resumes watching him intently the moment he turns around and is astonished to see him burst into laughter.

She grins helplessly, delighted that her note is the thing that got him to smile like that. It's not a huge deal but it feels like a victory of some sort. She can feel her heart beating faster than usual and she's well aware that she's literally losing her mind but she finds that she doesn't really mind. Not when Eddie is laughing like _that, _open and free.

It's lovely to see and Patricia spends the rest of the class in a whirlwind of happy, dazed thoughts. At this point she's knows she has very little dignity left, having stooped to the official definition of "lovesick" but if this what liking someone feels like, it's maybe not so bad.

Sure, it's a constant struggle, having her mind dominated by crush related worries and fears but it can also be kind of nice. For example, making Eddie laugh? That was very nice indeed.

Patricia casually walks to the front of the room at the end of lecture, joining the line of kids waiting to talk to the professor, before silently slipping out of it and walking by Eddie's desk on her way out. She can't go there first because someone might see and wonder or worse, _tell _him, but if she makes it looks like she wants to talk to the professor but then has changed her mind, no one will say anything. (She doubts that anyone is looking at her to begin with, but she's just being careful.)

She's beyond delighted when she sees there is indeed a piece of paper waiting for her. She rushes forward and collects it, not unfolding it until she's safely exited the lecture hall.

It reads: _Silly animal jokes, really? Also, I recommend learning how to draw other animals too. If you can draw a hedgehog but not a cat, there's a problem, don't you think? :P_

Patricia laughs softly, impressed at Eddie's wit. She's pleased to see that he's showing signs of being familiar with sarcasm. But at the same time her chest is kind of hurting because the note is _teasing _and _familiar _and those are concepts that are associated with friendship and they're not exactly at that.

He may mean a lot to her, but she certainly doesn't mean a lot to him, considering he doesn't actually _know _her.

And that makes Patricia kind of sad, but not sad enough to stop planning out her message.

* * *

"Morning, friends," Eddie greets his fellow journalists with a cheerful wave. He's been kind if silent and desponded during the last couple of sessions, silently drafting his articles and then leaving almost immediately afterwards. Today is the first time the school newspaper team is meeting since the notes had started coming in though, and Eddie is feeling more like himself.

"You're in a good mood today," Jerome observes suspiciously.

Eddie regards his classmate with amusement. "Anyone seems like they're in a good mood compared to you," he says. "Why are you in this club again?"

It was a well-known fact that Jerome isn't fond of writing for the school paper but when he put his mind to it, he's pretty good and everyone needs extracurriculars. Plus, there's the fact that he's trying to impress Mara, one of the chief editors.

Her eyes flickers to the two boys curiously, but she doesn't say anything, smiling softly at them as a way of greeting. She is of course curious about the change in Eddie's behavior since she knew all about Patricia's first note, but she and Eddie aren't actually friends, simply co-workers.

"So why _are _you so happy today?" Fabian asks quietly, once tasks for the new issue had been divided. He and Eddie are working on a joint article together so he's free to talk to Eddie without drawing attention to them.

"I got another note today," Eddie admits.

Fabian looks surprised. "That's kind of odd." He drags his gaze away from his word document and frowns. "Don't you think that's odd?"

"I thought you thought it was cute," Eddie says.

"Yeah, at first. Now it's kind of weird, isn't it?"

"It's unusual," Eddie concedes. "But lighten up, dude. I don't think there's anything to worry about. The notes are really friendly and fun and whoever has been writing them hasn't approached me in person or anything. It's just a bit of fun."

"Sure," Fabian shrugs, unconvinced.

As a result, Eddie has to hold back from defending the anonymous note-sender, a person he knows nothing about.

* * *

Mara knocks on Patricia's door and then steps back, waiting for Patricia to answer it.

Patricia opens the door a few minutes later, bleary eyed and sleepy. "I was napping," she complains.

"Aren't you always?" Mara says teasingly as she links he arm with Patricia and drags her out into the hall away from the room with Patricia's nosey yet cute roommate, Amber.

"What is it? You woke me up," Patricia whines again.

"Don't be mad." Mara carefully makes sure the hall is empty and even still, she lets her voice drops to a whisper. "I have some exciting news for you. Today Eddie walked into our newspaper club meeting looking alive for the first time all week! He was so mopey at the last couple of meetings but not today."

"Oh." Patricia is pleased to hear this but she can't say she's surprised.

Mara picks up on it right away. "You don't seem surprised," she accuses.

"Well that's because I might have something to do with his good mood," Patricia ducks her head shyly, thankful that at least she's not blushing.

"Oh, Patricia," Mara sighs sympathetically. "You sent that note almost a whole week ago. I don't think that's it."

"I sent another one today," Patricia admits, hanging her head. "So actually I think it is."

Mara squeals and immediately pulls out her phone to grouptext the sisterhood.

"What are you doing?" Patricia asks, kind of dreading Mara's response.

"You've got to tell us all about it and why tell the story more than once, right?"

Well when Mara puts it like that, Patricia supposes it makes sense.

"Do you know what this means?" Mara asks.

"No," Patricia replies warily. "Not a clue."

"This just means you _really _like Eddie. You might even be on your way to falling in love! Oh, how sweet."

Oh that.

Well yes, as it so happens, Patricia _did _know that.

She's rather screwed, isn't she?

* * *

**A/N:**

Not a whole lot of plot going on but I hope it's still interesting enough to be enjoyable :)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**

Whoops I think apologies are in order. It's been almost two months since I updated this! :( I have been doing a lot of writing but not really fanfiction writing so it took me a while to get back to this. Instead of making it 5 chapters, I cut it down to 4, so here's the second to last part. Hope you enjoyed this and once again, to all those still following this, so sorry for the wait.

**Disclaimer: **House of Anubis belongs to Nickelodeon, not me.

* * *

Patricia spends as much time moping over the notes as she does squealing over them. She's pleased that Eddie's been so receptive towards them; their exchanges have grown to mean everything to her. At the same time, she worries because Eddie's notes have become seemingly more...flirtatious.

Or maybe that's just how he treats all of his friends. She hasn't actually spoken a word to him so it's not like she knows. Because the fact of the matter is - Eddie is fond of his anonymous pen-pal, not Patricia.

She would bet anything that he has no idea who she actually is. So, yes, she does a fair amount of moping.

Monday morning marks the second week that they've been passing notes back and forth.

But whose counting?

Eddie eagerly steps into the lecture hall and makes a beeline for his usual seat. He's tempted to come to class early, to see whose been making him laugh and inadvertently helping him get through his breakup.

But he knows better. He gets the feeling that if he catches the sender in action, the notes will cease to come and things will get awkward. By now he's figured out that the messages aren't coming from someone he's close to.

It has to be someone else. And considering how large his calc class is, it could be just about anyone.

A couple of times Eddie had hinted at wanting to meet his note sender, but he or she always deflected him, changing the subject via joke or sarcasm. It was done so cleverly, that he didn't notice it until the topic of conversation had switched entirely.

When he reaches his desk, he beams with glee. A note is there waiting for him.

_How was your weekend, dork?! Word on the street is the weather was nice._

Below the text is a sketch of a hedgehog spread out on a beach blanket, wearing sunglasses. It's seated near the ocean.

Eddie bursts out laughing because the drawing is hilarious. Or maybe it's not and he just thinks hedgehog are funny animals. His note sender has officially gotten into the habit of always attaching some kind of picture incorporating a hedgehog. It's become somewhat of a tradition, their personal inside joke.

His heart bursts with a sudden surge of affection for his pen-pal. He'd _really _like to get to know them. He's not so secretly hoping the sender is a girl (based on the handwriting, he's pretty sure it is) and that they can meet and go from there.

And since sneaking around and spying is obviously the wrong way to go, Eddie decides it's time to officially ask the note-sender to meet him.

His reply reads as such:

_My weekend was nice, but it would have been even better if I had spent it with a new friend. Speaking of which, care to reveal yourself? Let's meet up sometime. Coffee maybe?_

Eddie leaves his note on his desk at the end of class and exits the lecture class as usual. But for the first time, he's frustrated with their system of only two notes per class. He won't see the reply until tomorrow afternoon! He knows it's not a long time to wait, but it's still irritating because he's weirdly anxious about the whole thing. He wonders what his pen-pal will say.

He's really hoping they want to meet him just as much as he wants to meet them.

* * *

Patricia doesn't know how to react to Eddie's note.

She's shocked, excited, afraid, and strangely disappointed all at once.

Eddie wants to meet her! It should be a good thing, yet she views it as a bad one. She's somehow convinced herself that she doesn't deserve Eddie and that she never will. That they're too different to ever work.

She supposes she could meet him and try just being friends but she's never liked someone like this before. Just friends wouldn't be enough.

It's ridiculous how stupidly in love with him she is. She wants to slap herself, to be honest.

In the end, fear outweighs the curiosity, and she knows what her answer will be.

* * *

_I wish I could but I can't. I'm sorry._

Fabian reads off the scrap of paper that Eddie has handed him and frowns. "And there was no drawing like usual, you said? That's...odd." he finally says, settling on a word. "It seems like they felt the same. Or at least they seemed to value the notes as much as you did."

"That's what I thought," Eddie says miserably, flopping ungracefully onto his bed. When he looks up, Fabian has a tiny smile on his face. "What? What is it?" he demands.

"It's nothing. It's just...nice to see you moping over someone besides KT."

Eddie blinks in surprise as he considers his roommate's words and realizes that Fabian is right. He hasn't even thought about KT since...since the notes started pretty much. She crosses his mind every now and then, but not in a "I want you back" kind of way.

"Are you saying I have a crush on the note sender? It could be a guy for all I know!"

"Not necessarily," Fabian shrugs. "In fact, it's probably not. And even if it was, things might be weird for a while, but you'd at least have a new friend. Although he'd probably be gay and in love with you." He tilts his head to the side and considers this. "Hm. Your life will be a lot easier if it's a girl."

Eddie rolls his eyes. "It's not like it even matters. He or she doesn't want to meet me."

"They could change their mind," Fabian points out. "By the way, what did you reply?"

"It's okay. I understand. I hope that this won't affect our note exchange. Have a nice day," Eddie recites word for word.

Fabian, who had been flipping through the old notes that Eddie had carefully kept, smacks his forehead and sighs. He can tell the difference between the usual casual, lighthearted banter and this new stiff, formal language.

"Oh, Eddie," he groans.

"What! I was perfectly polite."

Eddie shoots his roommate a challenging scowl.

Fabian sighs again and just shakes his head. He turns the pile of notes over in his hands and looks at them one more time, hoping that if he stares at them hard enough, he'll find something useful to say that will comfort his friend.

And that's when he realizes that the stationary looks familiar.

"I've seen this paper before," he suddenly says, breaking the stony silence.

Eddie briefly looks up, his face having been buried in his hands. "What?"

"The stationary," Fabian explains. "I've seen it before. I feel like..." he trails off and shrugs. "It's probably just a coincidence."

"It's probably not!" Eddie sits up with renewed energy. "How many people could possibly have eco friendly notepads with green papers? With little green trees in the corner? Who does it belong to?"

"Even if I could remember, it's probably best not to corner them. Especially after they refused to meet you."

"Fabian, come on!"

"I'll try to remember," Fabian promises. "Maybe I saved the paper in a folder or something. I can't think of who it's from off the top of my head. Go to class and I'll dig around my desk, okay? I swear I'll look for it."

Eddie nods, slightly comforted, and heads off to his calculus lecture.

The class he now dreads.

* * *

Eddie's reply made Patricia want to cry.

She spends the rest of the day debating her choice. Did she do the wrong thing? Should she have gone ahead and agreed to meet him? It just seemed so weird that she hadn't properly considered it.

Now part of her is beginning to regret it because even though she still firmly believes that she and Eddie are from two different walks of life, she's never been a wimp.

Yet these past few weeks that's exactly what she's become and she kind of hates that.

_It's okay. I understand. I hope that this won't affect our note exchange. Have a nice day._

She's memorized that stupid note by heart and it still makes her cringe. His words are cold, yet polite. Distant, yet oddly understanding.

She's pretty sure she's ruined everything.

* * *

**A/N:** I know it was short, but it was something! Only one more to go.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**

Thanks for all the amazing comments! This is the last part.

**Disclaimer: **House of Anubis belongs to Nickelodeon, not me.

* * *

Eddie spends all his time sulking. When Fabian finally summons the courage to tell Eddie that he's moping more over his pen-pal crisis than his ex-girlfriend, the look he receives is so ferocious, that he doesn't mention anything of the kind again.

Until it finally gets to be too much.

Fabian twists his key into the lock and finds that the door barely budges. With a loud grunt, he forces the door open and steps inside to see what was obstructing it. His roommate's laundry basket. Of course.

He wrinkles his nose and sniffs. "Eddie, you usually do laundry on weekends. It's Sunday night and your clothes are just sitting here, blocking half the room. Get a move on."

Eddie glares at him from his place on his bed. He's buried underneath his puffy blue comforter, but his hand is dangling off the bed, bottle in hand.

Fabian steps forward and resists the urge to smack his roommate. "Is that _vodka?_ Please don't tell me you're drunk. You _know _I'm bad with intoxicated people."

Eddie sits up then, gently placing the bottle on the floor. "I haven't even opened it," he said mournfully, as though he was regretting that decision.

"So you were just...staring at it?" Fabian sighs, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You are a budding alcoholic."

It's far from the truth but it does the trick. For one of the first time all weekend, Eddie shoots his roommate a withering glare, different from the dead, blank stares Fabian has been receiving.

"I am not," he scowls stubbornly, kicking the bottle underneath the bed as though that proves his point.

"Listen. You're jumping to conclusions - bad ones. You don't know that your note sender is going to stop leaving you notes. It's the weekend. See what Monday brings." Fabian heavily sits on the edge of Eddie's bed, tired from his roommate's moping.

"You're right," Eddie responds reluctantly. "But I sort of know how they are. Even if they send me notes, it won't be the same. I made things awkward. That can't be fixed."

Fabian grins. "I've never seen you this dramatic." He ducks as Eddie chucks a pillow at his head.

Jumping off of his roommate's bed, he goes to his desk and pulls out a big folder.

"What's that?" Eddie isn't in the mood to talk, but he's curious.

"My folder of miscellaneous papers," Fabian explains casually, as though it's normal to have one of those.

He's excellent about filing. There's a folder for every class subject, club, etc. But if he can't find a place to put something, he doesn't throw it away. He never has the heart. Instead, he keeps _everything _in one big messy folder.

"I'm looking for the handwriting from your notes," Fabian says, bringing the folder back to his roommate's bed.

Eddie sits up then, bright and hopeful. "I'll help."

"I expected nothing less," Fabian says dryly, rolling his eyes at his roommate's sudden mood change.

Eddie grins ruefully, aware of how ridiculous he's been. "Thanks for this," he says sincerely, making a mental note to buy Fabian some kind of present when this is all over.

Fabian shrugs with a goodnatured smile. Ever the hopeless romantic, he doesn't actually mind helping out his roommate, even if he complains and says otherwise.

"Let's just hope your note sender is a girl," he teases, half serious.

"Oh god. I really hope so."

Eddie doesn't know when exactly he started flirting with the note sender and dreaming of something more but it doesn't matter, because it's happened and it's done. He is crushing on his pen-pal. Hard.

Another half hour goes by, during which Eddie has muttered a steady string of comments about how the folder is magical and holds an unreasonably high amount of papers.

"Ungrateful brat," Fabian jokes.

Another ten minutes go by before he finds what he's looking for.

"Got it!" he exclaims. "Got it, got it, got it."

Fabian isn't sure when he got so invested in the search for Eddie's pen-pal or _why _he's so invested but he is.

"Let me see!" Eddie cranes his neck, trying to read the note.

Fabian shakes his head. "I have to make sure."

Eddie waits with baited breath (god, he's such a teenager girl right now) and grins when Fabian smiles broadly.

"Well look at that," Fabian muses, handing the note to his friend. "Your pen-pal is a girl. A pretty one like that."

"Really?" Eddie says, eagerly. He isn't overly superficial, having fallen for the personality behind the notes. But he'd be lying if he hadn't been hoping it would be an attractive young woman.

Ironically, the paper that Fabian hands Eddie is _also _a note on the same stationary as Eddie's notes.

_Fabian,_

_Mara is sick today and can't come to chem class. She wants you to swing by after class and drop off your notes._

_- Patricia_

"Patricia," Eddie" tests the name on his tongue. "So what's this note about?"

"She's one of Mara's friends. The same Mara from my chem class and from the newspaper club?" Fabian waits for Eddie to nod in recognition before continuing. "She got sick a few months ago and told Patricia to write that note or something. She left it on our room's door actually."

"I didn't see it!" Eddie exclaims, annoyed.

Because if he had, he would have made the connection a long time ago.

"I must have gotten home before you," Fabian deduces.

"So...Patricia?" Eddie looks eager, hopeful.

Fabian chuckles and reaches for his laptop. "Hold on. I think we're Facebook friends. We went to the same party or something."

Eddie feels his jaw drop. "You guys were facebook friends this whole time? _Fabian._"

"It's not my fault!" Fabian protests, staring at his computer as though that'll will the page to load faster. "Patricia Williamson." He pushes the laptop towards Eddie, triumphant.

Eddie stares at her profile picture for the longest time. She's standing on to of a beautiful snowcapped mountain with the most amazing landscape. But all he sees is Patricia all bundled up in warm clothing. She's laughing, her hair windswept, her smile bright.

"Eddie?" Fabian asks, sounding uncertain.

"She's _adorable."_

Fabian laughs then, because Eddie is so smitten and it's the most hilarious thing he's ever witnessed.

"She's so cute," Eddie practically wails, flopping over onto his bed. "You know her. Why don't I know her?"

Fabian snorts. "You know her better than I know her. You have a class with her."

Eddie opens to his mouth to argue but then closes it, because it's _true._ This beautiful girl has been in his lecture all semester and he's never noticed.

"Okay. Patricia Williamson. What should I do with this information?"

"You're joking!" Fabian is shocked. "You had me looking for her name for ages and now that you have it, you don't know what to do with it? _Unbelievable._"

"Um..." Eddie has his best innocent angel face going, but Fabian doesn't fall for it. "Should I friend her on Facebook?"

"Not yet," Fabian advises. "She'll have a heart attack. Think of something else."

So Eddie does.

* * *

Eddie enters his lecture hall, ecstatic. He's been waiting for calc class all night long, ever since he discovered who Patricia is.

He's got it all planned out.

Well. Not really. All he knows is that he's going to confront Patricia. And hopefully everything will just work out.

When he gets to class, he's surprised to see a note on his desk. He kind of thought he wouldn't get one.

_I'm sorry. Please don't be mad._

It makes him sad that he's made her sad.

But on the bright side, there's a sketch of a crying hedgehog which is excellent news.

He folds the note and turns around, looking for Patricia.

She's seated towards the back, looking at him, anxiously waiting for his reaction as Eddie can assume she's done each and every note. She jumps back when they make eye contact.

Several expressions flit across her face in rapid succession.

Surprise. Fear. Horror. Embarrassment. Relief. Happiness. And was that last one hope?

Eddie certainly hopes so because that's good news for him. It means Patricia is interested.

She lowers her gaze. Eddie looks back a couple times throughout class and he knows that she knows he's looking at her...but she doesn't once look up.

At the end of class, he writes his note as usual, and walks out of class. He's tempted to stay, to confront her head on, but he doesn't want to corner her. Instead, he patiently waits in the quad near the fountain, where he hopes she will meet him.

* * *

_I know you said you didn't want to meet, but I know who you are now, and it just makes me want to meet you even more. It's a funny story - how I managed to track you down. Wanna hear it? Meet me by the fountain in the quad. Please._

Patricia doesn't know how Eddie found out, but she's terribly curious. Even then, she's tempted not to go.

To just run away from it all and forget she ever even started this.

It's probably the poorly drawn hedgehog holding flowers at the bottom that convinces her to go, to give this thing a chance.

She giggles because Eddie is a _terrible _artist.

When she exits the lecture hall, she half expects him to be waiting right outside, despite what his note said. But he's not there, and she's grateful that he had the presence of mind not to make her feel trapped.

Her heart is pounding and the blood is rushing in her ears, she's so nervous. She knows it's stupid, but she can't help how she feels.

She's had a ten minute walk to think about what she wants to say, but nothing particularly amazing comes to mind.

When she finally reaches the patiently waiting Eddie she simply steps forward slowly, shyly. "Hi."

"Hi Patricia," he says kindly. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too." She says it as though she's unsure if she means it.

"You don't sound very convinced." Eddie calls her out, smirking.

"No, I am," she says hurriedly, pouting subconsciously when she realizes he's just teasing.

He's convinced it's the cutest thing he's ever seen.

"Go ona date with me?" he asks, feeling bold.

Patricia gasps. "What?"

"Just coffee?" Eddie asks again. "I can tell you about how I found you. And thank you for what you did."

"It was nothing so..."

"I want to go on a date with you," he says impatiently. "Do you want to go on a date with me? Yes or no?"

"Well yeah, I've liked you forever!"

Patricia's eyes grow impossibly wide as she realizes what she's just admitted out loud.

In response, Eddie's smiles so brightly, it hurts his face.

He has to physically restrain himself from kissing her right there and then because he has a feeling it would intimidate her.

So instead they go for coffee.

* * *

**A/N:**

AND THEN THEY GO ON MORE DATES AND FALL IN LOVE AND DATE THROUGHOUT COLLEGE AND EVENTUALLY GET MARRIED AND HAVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Naturally :)

So that's a wrap. I know both Eddie and Patricia were a little softer than usual here, but they were kind of meant to be. Exploring their vulnerable sides and whatnot.

Thanks for reading this and joining me on this small little fic! It was fun!


End file.
